Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America

This is a very well-written and meticulously researched and documented book. No wonder it has the gun proliferation lobby running scared and responding with hysterical rants, ad-hominem attacks and disingenuous strawman arguments. Notice how none of the hostile reviews on this page have addressed a single one of the author's main points:* The gun industry enjoys exceptional secrecy, which often cripples the efforts of law enforcement to solve violent crimes.* It also enjoys unprecedented immunity from consumer protection laws, which far more heavily regulate such items as books, toothpaste and VCR's (to use John J. Miller's example - and how many Americans are killed every year by VCR's?)* The industry constantly seeks to reinvigorate a saturated market by mass-producing increasingly high-powered and concealable weapons which serve no legitimate self-defense or sports purpose.* It creates an artificial demand for these weapons by pandering to immature Rambo wannabees, whipping up fear and hysteria about impending social collapse, and shows appalling callousness about the possibility of its products getting into the hands of criminals and children.One great strength of this book is its use of the gun lobby's own words to condemn them as hypocrites. They spout the standard NRA line for public consumption, wrapping themselves in the flag and worshipping the gun as a sacred object, but in industry publications they often let their guard down and talk frankly about how they exploit the Walter Mitty factor to flood the US with many times more guns than could be justified on any rational grounds.Don't be put off by the knee-jerk reactions of reviewers who obviously haven't read this book and are just mindlessly regurgitating the NRA's predictable condemnation of it. Get the facts for yourself!

Tom Diaz's book is a chilling and convincing indictment of the gun industry and the pro-gun press that acts as their mouthpiece. I read it in a single afternoon. "Making a Killing" is a fundamental book for those who think that there are alternatives to concealed weapon (CCW) liberalization and that some industries will do anything to increase their profit margin, even at the expense of public safety. First of all, I thought that Diaz's section explaining the difference in caliber and types of weaponry was very helpful (32-35). Many gun advocates like confusing these definitions, in the public sphere and in legislative committees, to try and discredit those who oppose them. (Note the earlier reader who attempts this tired strategy.) Diaz's explanation of how the semantics of "assault rifle" changed from the early 1980s to the early 1990s was illuminating (126-128). I was unaware of the ways that gun manufacturers exploit ties to law enforcement agencies. After much lobbying to insure the criminals have access to high-power, compact weapons, they then go to the police to get them to trade in their six-shooters for pistols. Gun manufacturers then buy the old guns and re-sell them, where they often wind-up in the wrong hands (146-148). The conclusion is clear: the gun industry intends to make its money by selling to both sides of the domestic arms race that they have largely created. For anyone who ever wondered why the NRA and other groups have advocated the most illogical and ineffective gun laws imaginable, it is because they have an interest ($$) in making sure criminals are armed. Diaz's analysis of the recent push to liberalize CCW (concealed carry weapon) legislation nationwide confirmed my suspicions. After making sure there were too many guns in our society, they gun industry and their lobbyists tell us we need to arm ourselves from criminals. The also stand to make more $$ by selling CCW accessories and by training classes. The quote by Tanya Metaksa, a high-ranking NRA official, was particularly revealing: "The gun industry should send me a basket of fruit [because] our efforts have created a new market" (168). I often hear that CCW holders are "responsible law-abiders" who will make society safer, but after reading Diaz's descriptions of new buyers with absolutely no knowledge of firearms, and of "slob shooters" drinking beer as they fire their high-power weapons at the range, I'm not reassured (180-183). Finally, Diaz deserves a lot of credit for his in-depth research of the many gun magazines and the way in which they suck-up to the industry. (And what reasonable person would even want to read such doggerel? ) His random analysis of 175 reviews of new firearms--where there was not a single negative review--was actually funny (55). It seems that someone could cut a bar of soap into the form of gun, put some boot black on it, and it would get an enthusiastic review in the shooting press. Even when rea

From the comments of other readers here, you might think this book is some kind of predictable rant. In fact, it's solid reporting, soberly presented. It's filled with direct quotes from gun industry executives and gun magazines that prove the writer's points. Sure, the author has a point of view, but he doesn't shove it down your throat. I found it very analytical and persuasive. I hope other people will be more open-minded about the amazing research in this book. It made me see the gun control issue in a new light.

Public policy requires some degree of research and honesty. Diaz has skimped on both, leading to erroneous conclusions. Diaz ignores some recent and exhaustive research ("More Gins, Less Crime" by Lott, for example) in a poor attempt to prove his preconceptions.In short, this work is an utter waste of time for anyone who takes public policy, or honesty, seriously.

Author Diaz does a great job showing the lengths to which the domestic disarmament movement will go to further its ideal of an America without guns.In support of his attack on the legal firearms market, Diaz makes some preposterous assumptions about what goes on in the minds of manufacturers and the degree to which they control the marketplace.In short, the notions put forth in Diaz' book are wholly inconsistent with the fact that 60 million law-abiding American firearm owners send literally billions of rounds down range every year without committing any form of murder or mayhem.